Neurodiversity-Affirming Therapy for Adults
You may be experiencing autistic or ADHD burnout, anxiety, trauma, masking, relationship difficulties, overwhelm, or trying to make sense of yourself following a late diagnosis or growing awareness that you may be neurodivergent.
I offer thoughtful, specialist online therapy that adapts to how you communicate, process emotions and experience the world. You don't need a formal diagnosis to work with me. You may be diagnosed, awaiting assessment, self-identifying or simply beginning to explore whether neurodivergence helps explain some of your experiences.
I’m Emma, a neurodivergent BACP Accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist, EMDR practitioner and Clinical Supervisor, with more than 14 years' experience working therapeutically with adults.
My work is neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed and collaborative. Therapy isn't about trying to make you appear more neurotypical. It's about helping you understand yourself more fully, reduce distress and find ways of living that feel more sustainable and more like you.
You don't have to perform in therapy
For many neurodivergent people, everyday life involves a great deal of adapting, monitoring and masking.
Therapy doesn't need to become another place where you have to get things "right".
You don't need to make eye contact, sit still, suppress movement, find the perfect words or communicate in a particular way. We can adapt sessions around your sensory needs, processing style, communication preferences, executive functioning and energy levels.
I aim to offer a space where you can feel deeply listened to and understood. Together, we can gently explore your experiences, notice patterns and make sense of what your emotions, body and nervous system may be communicating.
What I can support you with
I work with neurodivergent adults experiencing difficulties including:
- autistic and ADHD burnout
- overwhelm and executive functioning difficulties
- anxiety and emotional regulation
- masking and unmasking
- late diagnosis and identity
- self-esteem and a harsh inner critic
- relationships, attachment and boundaries
- sensory overwhelm
- workplace difficulties
- grief, loss and life changes
- trauma and the impact of difficult past experiences.
You may also simply want somewhere to understand yourself better. Therapy doesn't have to begin with a crisis.
My approach
My work is shaped by three interconnected principles.
1) Neurodiversity affirming
Neurodivergence is understood as part of natural human variation rather than something that needs to be corrected.
We can explore both the strengths and difficulties associated with your neurotype without ignoring the very real impact of living in environments that may not accommodate your needs.
2) Trauma informed
Many neurodivergent adults have spent years being misunderstood, criticised, excluded or encouraged to suppress natural ways of being.
I work with sensitivity to safety, trust, choice and pacing. We won't push through difficult material simply because therapy says we "should".
3) Nervous-system aware
Stress, sensory demands, uncertainty, social interaction and prolonged expectations can sometimes push neurodivergent nervous systems towards overwhelm, shutdown or exhaustion.
Therapy can help you recognise your own patterns, understand what your nervous system needs and develop realistic ways of supporting yourself.
This might include practical strategies, but it isn't about giving you another list of things you "ought" to be doing.
EMDR and neurodivergence
I also offer EMDR therapy, adapted where appropriate for neurodivergent clients.
Not all trauma comes from one dramatic event.
For some people, distress has developed gradually through experiences of bullying, rejection, shame, being repeatedly misunderstood, having needs dismissed or spending years trying to hide parts of themselves in order to fit in.
EMDR can help process some of these experiences and reduce the emotional intensity they continue to hold.
Why specialist neurodiversity-affirming therapy?
You don't need to educate me.
I bring together lived experience, specialist professional knowledge, Master's-level research and many years of therapeutic work with neurodivergent adults.
You don't need a formal diagnosis.
You are welcome whether you are diagnosed, awaiting assessment, self-identifying or questioning.
Therapy is adapted to you.
We can work with your preferred communication style, sensory needs, processing speed, energy and executive functioning.
We can look beyond symptoms.
Rather than simply asking, "How do we stop this?", we can also explore what is happening, why it makes sense and what you may need.
My background in neurodiversity
My specialist interest in neurodiversity began while volunteering with an autism charity in 2012. I became increasingly interested in how counselling and psychotherapy could be better adapted for neurodivergent people rather than expecting clients to adapt themselves to conventional therapy. I explored this further through my Master's research, completed in 2018, examining therapists' experiences of working with neurodivergent clients using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. That interest has continued to shape my clinical work, training and supervision ever since.
What is neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity simply recognises that human brains naturally vary in the way they process information, regulate emotion, communicate and experience the world.
Neurodivergence commonly includes autism, ADHD, AuDHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, Tourette's and other neurological or developmental differences. Labels can sometimes help us understand ourselves, but you don't need to arrive in therapy knowing exactly which one fits.
A therapy space that works with your brain
You don't need to become less autistic, less ADHD, less sensitive or better at appearing "normal" in order for therapy to be useful.
Our work can instead focus on understanding yourself, processing what has happened to you, recognising what you need and finding ways of living that feel more manageable and authentic.
If you are looking for online neurodiversity-affirming counselling or psychotherapy and would like to see whether we might work well together, you are very welcome to get in touch.
Online counselling and psychotherapy for adults across the UK.
Email me today: emmwestoncounselling@proton.me to book a discovery call
My commitment to Equality Diversity and Inclusion
I am neurodivergent and I was raised in a neurodivergent, mixed-heritage family in London. I am neurodiversity-affirming, LGBTQIA+-affirming and anti-racist. I acknowledge where I hold privilege, power and bias and I am committed to working on them through ongoing training, clinical supervision and reflection. You are welcome here exactly as you are. Whatever your background, identity or story, I honour the experiences of culture, race, faith, gender, sexuality, class, age and disability that shape who you are. My sessions adapt to your needs: sensory-friendly adjustments, flexible pacing, and trauma-informed, person-centred care. I am committed to on-going learning and my own development so my practice stays compassionate, ethical and truly inclusive.